Sunday Sermon - September 21, 2014: Rosh Hashanah is Wednesday

שנה טובה ומתוקה

"Shana Tova Umetukah!"

Shana tova umetuka!  A good and sweet year!"  This is a common greeting on the Hebrew celebration of Rosh Hashanah.  And if you think the Arabs and the Jews have nothing in common, remember that Judaism, Islam, and Christianity all claim to have received their marching orders from the same God, although some in Islam would dispute this, all three are Abrahamic religions.  The dispute only holds water if they don't believe their own scripture which states Muhammad was given the word of God via the Arch-angel Gabriel.  Hey, same angel, same God, and it matters little what you call God.  But, as usual, I have gotten off my track of thought.

As I understand the celebration, and not being Jewish I am sure to muck this up, Rosh Hashanah, "head of the year," is the Jewish New Year.  It begins at sundown on September 24, 2014.  Rosh Hashanah is directly related to Ras as-Sanah, chosen by Muslims for the Islamic New Year.  For the Jews it represents God's creation of everything out of nothing, as in the book of Genesis.  More specifically, many say Rosh Hashanah commemorates the creation of man.

The holiday is biblically referred to as Yom Teruah, "day of raising a noise" or The Feast of Trumpets.  Customarily the celebration includes blowing of a rams's horn, called a shofar, and eating of symbolic, sweet, foods to evoke a "sweet year."  This celebration is followed in ten days by Yom Kippur, "the day of judgment."

There is so much more to say on the holiday of Rosh Hashanah.  This Sunday I ask all of my readers to look up the holiday online and learn something more about the original of the three Abrahamic religions.  You should learn something every day, and this is an opportunity to learn something that might make you more tolerant of other beliefs.

To all of my Jewish friends, I wish you all, "Shana tova umetuka!"  Please enjoy another good and sweet year, and may God's blessings and sweet understanding be on all of you.  If I misstated anything above, please accept my sincere apology.  Hey, if you don't do you can't fail, and it is in failure that we learn the greatest lessons.  

I invite you to comment, correct, or add to this post as needed to clarify or expound.